1/27/2015
On day 147 we enjoyed the city of Tampa. We made sure the trailer was spotless and washed all our laundry before the arrival of my mother. In between preparing for another passenger in the trailer we managed to have a tasty lunch at Chili’s. The manager Amanda was very intriguing. We discovered she volunteered for a local animal shelter. She attended to customers with the same watchful eye. All was delicious as usual but the skillet toffee fudge brownie was an extra special treat. The meal kept me satisfied until we picked up my mother from the airport. Our room at the Marriott connected to the airport. The arrival gate was only two minutes from our room. This included the wait for the elevator. It was a happy reunion and it signaled our proximity to the tip of Florida.
My mom had a bit of jet lag despite the comfort of the beds. My slumber was great but I was awakened a tad early. With an extra person in the mix we attempted to get in sync. Things were moving smoothly until we discovered location of the Shriner’s hospital wasn’t where we believed it to be. The beautiful building on the water that we saw on the previous day was their international headquarters. We always plan our arrivals early to prepare for the unforeseen. On this day we arrived right on time. We were whisked right into the hospital and started meeting Shriner’s, staff, and kids. In the lobby I coaxed a couple of kids away from video games and gave away a couple of books.
I toured the facilities and learned a bit about the process of making prostetic limbs. It was a fascinating lesson. I interacted with a few more children before lunch time came around. Jamie who works for their PR department offered to take me, Crystal, and my mom to lunch. I filled myself on pasta, salad and dessert before being taken back to the road. I ran a six miles before running into Crystal. I settled down for a minute before calling in to the Big Blend Radio. I chatted with the hosts Lisa and Nancy for about forty-five minutes. The bulk of the time buckets of sweat dripped from my head and body. It was more perspiration that when I ran. I wanted to put the window down but I was afraid the noise from the traffic would disrupt the show. I sat in the oven wondering how it could be so chilly outside yet so hot inside. Endurance would be the key.
Running to Sun City was a quick trip. I actually never saw anything resembling a city. There was just a sign that I encountered. I made the stoplight ahead that much more confusing. I found Crystal and my mom parked on a large patch of land on my left hand side (east). They figured the open spot was public property and we were part of the public. A surprising number of cars passed the intersection but it was more peaceful than the wind that began to kick in the middle of the night. Around eight in the evening my eyes were heavy. My best efforts to read were met with defeat. The sandman was victorious.
By morning all the wind had died down. There wasn’t much reason for us to linger around so we hit the road relatively early. I searched everywhere for alligators but they eluded my scope. Maybe I needed to slow my running down. The 41 was fairly straight. Crystal and I almost took two different paths but I was convinced to run with her to the trailer. She had taken a route that would add one mile to my day but after cracking three thousand miles, one more wasn’t a big deal. She was good running company and the trailer wasn’t too far away.
I crossed a bridge with a tiny walking ledge. There was no way I was going to run over the thing. One misstep and I would have been pounded by speeding vehicles. My reward for surviving though was a lunch at Olive Garden. I ate a meaty eggplant dish. When we checked the day’s remaining mileage, we found only six miles were left until we reached the Hampton Inn Sarasota on University Parkway. The straight road was only hampered by temperamental stoplights and texting drivers. I ran defensively until I hit the destination. Upon arrival, I was greeted with a lovely care package from Mamma Chia. I sipped on my delicious drink and ran a hot bath. The hydrotherapy is the one thing that keeps this body running.
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